Okay, so just to let you know, I held off on reading this last chapter. When you posted this there were a TON of new updates. Some I had read but not yet reviewed. Some I hadn't read yet and also didn't review. I wanted to save this one for last. One because many of those other fics were/are very angsty and while well written, not something I wanted to end my epic catch up with fics night reading. I did want to end on a story that's brought me a lot of joy and one I knew would be worth it. Thus saving the best for last. Really glad I did. Now on with actually talking about this chapter.

I love the fact that Jim and Pam's relationship is a sort of armor for her. Regardless of what happens at the office, she and Jim are together and that means it's all okay. Great way to bring that out.

Pam getting a package sparks all the joy. Especially as she opens it. The Twister drawing was lovely, however the crown of everything was the mug. I don't think there's anything else that could have convinced Pam that she's One, welcome in the Halpert family, and Two destined to be a great Mom than that gesture right there. She clearly had a huge impact on Vanessa and it's so wonderful to read. I get the feeling that Pam and Vanessa are going to continue to strengthen that bond for years to come. It's just beautiful to read.

The gift card to Chili's is just the last bit of icing on the delicious cake that is this story. It's been so much fun to read. I'm a little sorry to see it go. You did a great job with everything. Can't wait to read the next story in this series.

Fortes Fortuna Adiuvat.

Author's Response:

Wow, you sure know how to make a girl feel really good...That's What She Said!

But seriously, I needed this since my after posting final chapter, so did so many other great authors. Already sad to say goodbye to my tale and then not sure if it would even get noticed. Since I do love to know my words touch others, (don't we all) your review really was a joy to read and I appreciate it so much.

It was hard to see this story end since I'm not sure when we'll get to see Evan, Charlie and Vanessa again and I really enjoyed so much writing them and especially building on the relationship Pam has with her future niece.

When I began this story, the idea was to create a simple backstory to the mug that she doesn't want Andy to use (and since the way she said it felt almost like it was coming from an 8 year old herself. in my mind it had to be pretty special) but as I sketched it in my mind it became so much more - shaping the changes we didn't get to see happen live in the show but we all know did.

You once said you love it when things just all come together when you write - the Chili's gift card was that moment for me- glad you found it at delicious as I did.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love for this story. 

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Okay, I’m planning on reviewing everything at the end but I have to say that the line “Toby, you can eat your shirt” really got me. Hahaha

Loving it so far!!

Author's Response: Always have such fun writing the ensemble stuff but sometimes it’s hard.  Glad you found this bit funny and in character.  

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Just to be clear. My prior post was joking.

Why hasn't the Net developed a sarcasm and joking font yet? We've had close to 50 years!

Author's Response:

Of course I knew and thanks for the double beans. 

Love to get any review and glad to have you giving it a read ...hope you are enjoying my vision of their NYE. Not typical but I hope you are finding it fun. 

But Wake me Up was so good so I don't blame you for going back for another round.

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D'awwwww, this was just so sweet. Pam and the kiddos playing Twister seemed all sorts of fun. Love all the mental notes she's taking. I'm sure they'll come in handy in a year or so.

She's really coming into her own as a mother figure too. That she natrually also drops the Snoopy nickname shows that really well. She's honest with Vanessa and the reward is the childlike honesty that helps to fill her heart like that. Just all sorts of warm golden goodness.

And the end there was just fun with the New Year's Jinx-ing. Delightfully them in the fun silliness of it. Great job.

Author's Response:

Gotta love Twister...works on so many levels and for any age.

So do you know the book? I added some notes about it after the fact....forgot my audience and how many might not know the reference.

It is IMHO an absolutely adorable read and part of a series...

If you Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff - check it out if you don't - I think the little one will love it as you will to. Mine did.

I was going to use There's a Monster at the End of this Book - more of a classic that I think more people would know but this one had the image at the end that summed up their busy day and was symbolic of Pam and Jim's busy night.

 -

oh and Pam's been planning that since the gas station - she doesn't mess around when it comes to jinx. 

Very cute chapter. The milk vs. water scene is also one of my favorites from AG's story so it's nice to see it represented here too.

I think Jim did a very good job at explaining things to Vanessa. That he uses her real name not her nickname was a great way to highlight that it was a serious conversation. I also like that he doesn't gloss over the question or try to avoid it. Young kids deserve to have their serious questions answered and this fit the bill nicely.

Pam was sweet by offering to switch mugs. It shows that even in so short a time she's bonded with the kids in that Vanessa lets Pam use her mug. Nicely done.

Author's Response:

One of the things that makes this forum so fun and more than just a place to post fics is the community and the cross referencing of our stories so it was fun to be able to bring in. I knew you would remember this classic runner.

Glad you appreciated the whole dialogue there. Sometimes kids can ambush you into conversations you're unprepared for, and I really wanted to paint the idea that the nickname was well earned.

Thanks as always. 

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I liked this a lot!

Charlie’s flight school and the very quick flip from happiness to open warfare between the kids all feels too real. And I love these little moments of Pam clearly having great instincts with the kids, having honed them on years of managing Michael and keeping Dwight and Jim’s hostilities in check.

You did a REALLY good job let us visualize the dinner scene. The description and details are really effective. I also liked portraying Vanessa’s room as “a sacred shrine for Charles M. Schultz,” which is just a good line. (And I’m glad you included Charlie Brown and Snoopy staring at Starry Night!

The moment with Pam passing on her excitement to Vanessa feels special – you can see what kind of influence Pam will be and her joy and also really imagine how big this is for Vanessa, too.

Noting the Jack Ryan reference, but it seems spot on that Pam’s issues with kids may have been connected in a way she didn’t see at the time to being a parent with Roy, who she can’t count on to be anymore committed as a father than he was as a significant other. Certainly it feels like there has to be an explanation for her joy in Company Picnic other than “well, a few years passed.”

Author's Response:

Certainly it feels like there has to be an explanation for her joy in Company Picnic other than “well, a few years passed.”

Exactly what I thought and a lot of the inspiration behind this piece -I always felt like starting in season 4 - "there's peanut butter in the fridge Michael", Pam was portrayed a lot more ready for motherhood and certainly in Company Picnic there seemed to be no fear...  something had to get her there. Glad it is coming across that way since it was kinda what I was going for.

You did pick up the Jack Ryan reference - YEAH! but did you also pick up on the subtle parallels between Charlie's near flight and Michaels' near jump off the roof in Safety Training? 

Don't yuck my yum was a big thing in my house when we were little and not too long ago one of the boys said it again and I nearly spit out what I was drinking. I just love it so much for the personal nostalgia and just cause I think it's a great line.

Isn't that a great picture - Peanuts and Van Gogh- two classics.

Thanks as always for bringin a smile to my face with your reviews.

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I was already loving this version of jinx when I realized they were pulling into the rest stop where the soda exploded on him... and then it ended up literally causing it. That is an amazing backstory that is my new headcanon.

I'm glad the champagne worked out anyways. Classy touch, Marcie.

I thought you captured well the sheer chaos of two excited children who both need to be emotionally attended to - and that you got in that the Halpert prankster gene has been passed on to the next generation. You can sense why Pam would be overwhelmed here.

That being said, she managed to handle it really well. Loving the unity of the universe you're building here - and looking forward to the rest of their adventures!

Author's Response:

I'm giddy and humbled to think I've written a headcanon (at least for you). Thank you. You really did make my day.

They are a fun couple with a whole lot of back stories (for us to write and share).

Like I said in my notes I am having a blast writing this - writing the kids is a new and really fun experience. Needless to say I've been watching a lot of videos of my kids when they were young to capture the spirit of the ages and so that's adding to the fun. Glad you feel I'm doing well in sharing it. It's early in the evening so lots more ahead.

 Thanks as always. 

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This is super cute and I really enjoyed it! Also, I wholly appreciate them watching Grey’s Anatomy together. I like that you are addressing Pam’s hesitancy with children. Not many people mention that. Great job!

Author's Response:

I always thought about why Pam was so apprehensive around kids when she'd been dealing with a bunch of big kids for years - so I made a little back story. 

Plus there was a scene with her, Jim and Michael later in season 4 when Michael gets gum in his hair and Pam seems so confident and motherly telling him about the peanut butter, and we never see any apprehension when she becomes pregnant or when's she's a new mother. In my mind something had to move the needle from the Pam in Take Your Daughter to Work Day to Mama Pam- this story is my way of getting her there.

Thanks so much for letting me know you enjoy it. It's really nice to hear. 

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Ok, this was a fun and realistic feeling chapter. You really get the sense that Pam is nervous around children. Especially based on her experience in canon and the extra story you put in there. However Jim's great in how he reassures her about everything. He's right. She's been babysitting and mothering a host of children for years. Probably just the thing she needed to hear. Also love that they would go to Dunkin. Everyone loves Dunkin.

Nice to hear about Vanessa, Charlie, and Baby Evan. Speaking of Baby Evan, love that name. ;) I've got a feeling things might be a little chaotic, but ultimately Jim and Pam will figure things out.

Lovely update.

Author's Response: Thanks Warrior. So her experience, true story at least the running around naked part. It didn’t keep me from babysitting however, just from sitting those 2 again.  

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The more I’m reading of your stuff, the more I’m enjoying it. This was so sweet and fun, glad it’s going multi-chapter.

Author's Response:

Thanks so much - that's really nice to hear. I do feel like it's the inspiration of what I read here that helps me be a better writer myself. But it is always so nice to get affirmation that I'm connecting with others in what I write. I love to find minute little things from the show and give them a back story - kind of how Jenna said she got into character I try to do for my stories - and add some stuff of my own too.

Thanks for the kind words and HAPPY 2021!!! 

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This is starting out great! I love that you have them spending so much time talking. They were best friends before, but now that they have all the time together, they're just strengthening that bond. I'm sure waitress Beth doesn't mind them to much. Also feels like they'd be the kinds of people to realize what they're doing and tip well.

The banter, humor, and wit during the discussions on the couch was really on par. I liked how you gave us an example of some of these discussions with Pam telling us about the bird funeral. That's just one example of the great writing through all of this opening chapter.

Jim looking through the yearbook was all sorts of cute. Pam look at you go. Being a heartbreaker from the earliest parts of your life and onwards. The transition from fun banter to more in depth discussions was also really good. Shows they're getting better at expressing themselves to each other.

Jim being then encouraging person he is towards Pam at the end is just the cherry on top. Can't wait to see where we go from here.

Author's Response:

Of course they tip well! And here's a little tidbit - Beth will be a major part of a new story coming this year.

Talking is the real foundation of any new relationship - sure chemistry is important but it's the talking that brings them closer. Really that whole episode I feel like Pam was trying to channel Jim - to make herself feel like he was there with all her wisecracking, but a the same time would be missing him since he wasn't there to see it. And though she may not see it herself she does have such a motherly instinct in the way she handles the situation with Michael.

The yearbook stuff I had extra fun with since I dug out my own. I don't think homeroom still exists now but I do remember how the kids who had names near mine I knew for ages because of how we were always thrown together. And then there they were all around me in the yearbook page. 

Thanks as always for your review. It has been the encouragement and inspiration here that has made this such a fun community I'm happy to be part of.

Wishing you all the best in 2021.  

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This is a fun bit of set-up for their New Year’s adventure!

I just really enjoyed their sheer joy in being able to talk to each other again, whether out of things to catch up on or just out of their love for/interest in each other. (And I appreciate that Beth is the exception rather than the rule in finding this habit charming. Those two are not fit to be out in public right now.) The banter is really good, and just feels like it flows naturally to the places you want it to go. It’s sweet and you can see how it would fill the hours and get Jim thinking.

I love you bringing the bird funeral back, partially to give Creed his due, and partially because it’s such a perfect illustration of exactly why Pam’s going to be a good mom – she actually has years of experience mothering Michael, the biggest kid of them all.

The little glimpses of Pam’s youth were intriguing. I like the bit of depth you’ve given to Pam’s volleyball career.

There were some good small notes here about how happiness changes their perspective – the bit about Pam finding even the annoying habits of their office-mates a little easier to take felt real, as did how even the context of things she already had positive associations with like Jim’s desk taps is evolving.

The Office characters 100% would’ve watched Grey’s Anatomy. I have a fic in progress in which Kelly in particular is a major MerDer shipper, and I buy it as a show Jim starts watching to talk about with Pam and then gets really into. This was definitely still prime Grey’s, when the characters were people we knew and loved, the plots were fresh and only previously sick/injured people ended up horribly dead. *sigh*

Author's Response:

Well Happy 2021 and thanks for the in depth review that I can always count on from you.

I'm always glad to hear you feel that I get the banter and balance right with them - I do feel like their conversations are the foundation of their bond - when they are talking like this all is good with them and after a year where they were so far apart they had so much to talk about - you are right they were not fit to be out in public. PS - more to come of Beth this year.

 Creed is my families' favorite character and that scene with him, Jim and Oscar makes us all laugh out loud. "You're not real man". I only wish I could have worked that line into this story but hope that it makes you think it when you read.

And yes, while Pam was all about the wisecracks in the beginning of the day (IMO trying to channel Jim) once she saw him hurting she changed her tune and did what any good mom would -kissed the boo-boo.

Thanks for letting me know how you notice the little nuances - that's always so reaffirming.

And Grey's - I'm pretty sure I made my husband watch with me back in the day - and he did enjoy it, although he's now teasing me for my rewatch (still on season 2 since time is very limited). Always fun to hear we're on the same page - Kelly being 100% a Grey's fan and probably talking everyone's ear off about it and calling Ryan, McDreamy. Can't wait to read what you have cooking with it - especially with my rewatch - you know that will resonate with me!

Thanks as always and all the best for the new year.